By Charles Coffie Gyamfi, Abeokuta
• Insists bio-scientists are key to economic recovery
A university teacher, Prof. Joseph Abayomi Olagunju yesterday disclosed that 61 percent of Nigerians still live below one dollar per day.
A university teacher, Prof. Joseph Abayomi Olagunju yesterday disclosed that 61 percent of Nigerians still live below one dollar per day.
He spoke at the maiden Bioscience Annual Conference,
organised by the College of Biosciences of the Federal University of
Agriculture (FUNAAB), Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital.
Olagunju, who is the Dean of the Post Graduate School at the
Lagos State University, lamented the high rate of poverty in Nigeria and
Africa.
According to him, the reason the country’s poverty level is
high is that some social variables that would have fostered its rapid
development and economic growth were omitted during its development process.
He cited the variables to include, poverty reduction,
inequality, unemployment, increasing population, education, health, housing and
provision of essential social amenities.
He explained: “In this age and time when economies are
increasingly based on knowledge, technology and information, biosciences and
biotechnology are the major drivers.
He said bioscience applications in the country are still at
the infancy stage, unlike in the developed countries
The Acting Vice-Chancellor of FUNAAB, Prof. Ololade
Enikhuomehin said the conference provided a unique platform for research
scientists and biosciences experts to share information.
He expressed the hope that the participants at the three-day
conference would come up with ideas that would shape research and control
policies in the sector.